Columbo - The Complete First Season - 22nd October 2018

[RichL]

I had a really good look before posting but I couldn't find a thread for this but it looks like Columbo is finally going to arrive on Blu-Ray in the UK.

http://www.fabulousfilms.com/products/528
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07H5VVTYJ

Just one more thing...

[Si Parallel Universe]

Will it have both the Pilots ? Will it cost less than £60 ?

[RichL]

Originally Posted by Si Parallel Universe

Will it have both the Pilots ? Will it cost less than £60 ?

From the Fabulous Films page:

"The landmark series that inspired an entire genre. Now, television’s greatest detective, Columbo, comes to Blu-ray for the first time now fully restored and in hi-definition. Starring Peter Falk in his 4-time Emmy®-winning role as the cigar-chomping, trench coat-wearing police lieutenant, this 3-disc collection includes every fascinating episode from the series’ first season. Also included are the two original Columbo TV Pilot movies: Prescription: Murder and Ransom For A Dead Man. Columbo’s first season features legendary guest stars like Robert Culp, Ray Milland, Eddie Albert, Suzanne Pleshette, Don Ameche, Leslie Nielsen and Roddy McDowall. It’s no mystery why Columbo: The Complete First Season is the Blu-ray set crime fans have been waiting for!"

Amazon price is currently £28.55

[Si Parallel Universe]

Ah yes sorry I just looked at the listing. Thanks

Just one more thing.. The Amazon listing says DVD price is £28.55 .. Guess we'll have to wait and see..

[RichL]

The Amazon link is what the Fabulous Films pre-order link goes to so I think the price is correct... currently! Amazon aren't always known for getting minor details such as whether a release is a DVD or Blu-Ray correct either. They often don't even get basic stuff like Region codes correct a lot of the time. They recently had (or still have?) a load of Indicator(?) pre-orders which had "Region ABC" in the title as being Region A locked, which I think would be business suicide for a UK based company releasing stuff with a BBFC cert on the cover, dontcha think?

Also, there's only one 3-disc set being released in October (Fabulous Films aren't re-issuing a DVD set that I can see) so I'm pretty confident.

[jimdigriz.]

Having had the Japanese set since 2012 I'm disappointed that Fabulous have not learned from the Australian experience.
Season sets is a dvd thing. These days people want complete runs so the first season sales will be lower than they should be for 2 reasons: firstly selling a show like Columbo in seasons works out too expensive for the buyer looking to get the whole lot and secondly many will not buy it because they won't be sure the series will be completed which is exactly what happened in Australia.

But based on their previous antics with trying to sell complete series then release unedited features as additional purchases later it's not really surprising from Fabulous Films.
It will be a false economy. FF titles are routinely over priced so FF won't want to release a 35 disc set for the complete run as it would be priced at a high level compared to other labels. But I think they'll lose more sales from those waiting for a complete set and those waiting for the whole lot to be announced before they go for it.

They should do a complete series as even at their high prices it would be attractive because the only complete series set in the world is the Japanese one which is rarely under £300

[drush9999]

Yeah I'd be up for a complete Columbo, my DVD set got watched through a few times.

[CouncilSpectre]

Can't argue against the season vs complete series set argument. FF with yet another bonehead move.

[Decky]

The chances of Fabulous releasing all 10 seasons seem pretty slim to me.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by jimdigriz.

Having had the Japanese set since 2012 I'm disappointed that Fabulous have not learned from the Australian experience.
Season sets is a dvd thing. These days people want complete runs so the first season sales will be lower than they should be for 2 reasons: firstly selling a show like Columbo in seasons works out too expensive for the buyer looking to get the whole lot and secondly many will not buy it because they won't be sure the series will be completed which is exactly what happened in Australia.

But based on their previous antics with trying to sell complete series then release unedited features as additional purchases later it's not really surprising from Fabulous Films.
It will be a false economy. FF titles are routinely over priced so FF won't want to release a 35 disc set for the complete run as it would be priced at a high level compared to other labels. But I think they'll lose more sales from those waiting for a complete set and those waiting for the whole lot to be announced before they go for it.

They should do a complete series as even at their high prices it would be attractive because the only complete series set in the world is the Japanese one which is rarely under £300

Given Fabulous' very high pricing then a complete UK set would probably cost that much anyway, they know that few people will pony up that much moolah so they're going the separate season route...but that will likely mean that the run is never completed.

[Si Parallel Universe]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Given Fabulous' very high pricing then a complete UK set would probably cost that much anyway, they know that few people will pony up that much moolah so they're going the separate season route...but that will likely mean that the run is never completed.

Not sure about that Columbo is very popular.

[StrayButler91]

Originally Posted by Si Parallel Universe

Not sure about that Columbo is very popular.

Tell that to Madman. They released the first two seasons on Blu-ray, but sales were poor so they only continued with DVDs.

As stated elsewhere in this thread, the chances that all ten seasons are released on Blu-ray by FF are slim to none. Happy to be wrong, though. I want the complete Columbo on Blu-ray.

[Si Parallel Universe]

Originally Posted by StrayButler91

Tell that to Madman. They released the first two seasons on Blu-ray, but sales were poor so they only continued with DVDs.

As stated elsewhere in this thread, the chances that all ten seasons are released on Blu-ray by FF are slim to none. Happy to be wrong, though. I want the complete Columbo on Blu-ray.

Madman is a niche title that has limited appeal to one generation of viewers , whereas Columbo is a well established favourite across generations. So, with the right kind of handling this should sell well enough.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Si Parallel Universe

Madman is a niche title that has limited appeal to one generation of viewers , whereas Columbo is a well established favourite across generations. So, with the right kind of handling this should sell well enough.

He's not talking about Madman the movie/show (do you think he meant Mad Men?) but Madman the Aussie distributor, which according to Mr Butler91 dropped Colombo on Blu after two seasons. The UK is not Australia, natch, but I'd be ****ing amazed if all 10 seasons made it onto UK Blu in this piecemeal fashion.

[Martoto]

They've got a bloody cheek charging that amount while using the same crap art that must be about ten years old now.

Having said that, I've never seen art for a Columbo release I didn't think was crap.

[jimdigriz.]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Given Fabulous' very high pricing then a complete UK set would probably cost that much anyway, they know that few people will pony up that much moolah so they're going the separate season route...but that will likely mean that the run is never completed.

One would hope that releasing all 35 discs in a single set would be more cost effective than separate seasons with additional packaging etc.
At the moment season 1 is £25 on Amazon so 10 seasons would be £250 but as I'm sure you know most seasons run to far fewer than 7 episodes although there is 69 in total so they should be able to do one for around £199. Still over priced for the UK but a limited edition of a few hundred released at the same time as season 1 would I'm sure make for a very attractive Xmas present.

As you say, the likelihood of the entire run appearing in season sets is very low

[jimdigriz.]

Originally Posted by Si Parallel Universe

Not sure about that Columbo is very popular.

Yes but not popular enough to get the asking prices studios seem to want to release the show on Bluray which is why the Japanese set is the only complete one in the world and released 7 years ago, why Australia cancelled the series after 2 seasons and why the only other Bluray appearance of the great man is a single episode in Germany.

I'm sure if he was popular enough Universal would release it themselves like they did in Japan

[Si Parallel Universe]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

He's not talking about Madman the movie/show (do you think he meant Mad Men?) but Madman the Aussie distributor, which according to Mr Butler91 dropped Colombo on Blu after two seasons. The UK is not Australia, natch, but I'd be ****ing amazed if all 10 seasons made it onto UK Blu in this piecemeal fashion.

Ah my bad. I did think you meant Mad Men oopsie.

Yes I take your point but as you say the UK is not Australia.

I'm guessing that beyond the 4th Season they could group Seasons 5/6 & 6/7 & 8/9 (for Seven releases at that point) and release Season Ten and the Specials as they would the first Four.

[jimdigriz.]

There's also the problem that the revival episodes from 1989 onwards really are not as good as the original ones.
If they were thinking ahead they could have split it in 2 and done a complete set of the 70's ones as a compromise.
The Japanese set includes isolated music tracks for several episodes. I would hope they're included too

As its only in SD on the Japanese set I wonder if they'll bother including the original cut of Etude in Black on the season 2 set and only include the padded revised version which is HD

[jampot]

I see the oz versions are available via amazon..and cheaper...